Jack freezes.
Jude and Stacey are suddenly out of the hallway.
“Hurry!” Jack yells.
“Trying!” I have one last medallion but can’t figure out how they work together, and it’s legit right in front of Olmec’s face.
“Give it to me!” Jack grabs it out of my hands, places it in the correct area, and twists it.
Light bursts from around the temple.
“WINNERS! Jack and Ivy!”
We both hug while Jude and Stacey start yelling at each other, and I realize that while this may have been a bit insane—it was fun, it was worth it, and it was earned.
Chapter Sixteen
Jack
“Jude was pissssssed.” I laugh again after we grab the trophy and make our way back into my apartment. Apparently, they’re ours now after winning, on top of the bonus and in a weird change of fate.
We also both get a promotion.
Which also resulted in Jude yelling at Stacey and Max, telling them he’d send them to Olmec if they didn’t cooperate with security.
All in all, a great yet weird day.
A great night.
A night that’s about to maybe get better? Did she mean all those things? I feel dumb asking her, but she is next to me, and now I’m being awkward again after knowing Max gave us a full week off.
In his words, because of the trauma, we deserved it.
We found out later that several board members were betting on us like we were horses, but hey, at least we didn’t die.
I pour Ivy a glass of wine; we’re still in our Silver Snake shirts. She takes a sip and then shakes her head. “This is the most intense thing I’ve ever experienced, and I was proposed to my senior year of college then found him and my roommate in the same room after a late study night just, casually doing sixty-nine.”
I almost spit out my wine. “I’m sorry, did I hear that right?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Does it make you feel better that my girlfriend for two years in college was sleeping with both her roommate, who happened to be a girl and me?”
“What?” she shrieks.
“She was too afraid to break it off, didn’t ever find them together but was always weirdly suspicious of their long study dates.” I shrug. “It was meant to be; I’m sure they’ll be super happy. I’m still stuck on the whole you were proposed to in college; I mean, that’s kind of young.”
We move to the couch and sit with our wine putting our feet on the table. She shrugs. “I was ready for something bigger, and I think so often we get preached at like, go to school, get a job, get married, have kids.”
“And look where that got us,” I tease. “Legends of the hidden temple fighting for internships cheers to all the adults in our lives.”
She laughs and lifts her rose. “Cheers.”
We both sit in silence on the couch, the environment heavy with tension like we both know what we want to do, but for serious, what do we do? Do I just shake her hand and tell her goodnight, or do I go in for a kiss?
She takes a few sips, then puts the wine down on the table and stands. I’m curious about what she’s doing, and then I’m tongue tied as she peels her shirt over her head, exposing her black sports bra, and starts taking off her leggings.
“Um, what are you doing?” I ask.
“Let’s skip to the good part.” She winks. “No more talk about exes, no more anything that makes us think about regrets or college and how horrible Olmec was.”
“Is,” I correct. “Is because you know Max is gonna keep that thing just to terrify me if I don’t turn in reports on time.”
She bursts out laughing, hands on curvy hips, facing me like a tasty snack I want to devour on repeat. “I’d like to see that.”
“I would too if you promise sex afterward.” I lean back.
Ivy gets up on my lap, straddling me. “That can be arranged.”
“We’re keeping Olmec. He’ll be like our pet we pull out every time I want to thrust in, deal?”
“That’s weird and yet cute.”
“I’m a complicated partner, good old Silver Snakes.” I hold up my hand for a high five; she grabs it and rolls her eyes.
We touch foreheads, and I kiss the shit out of her. I can’t help it. I love her. I love everything about her. She’s my perfect partner in crime, and I don’t want to let her go.
Our kisses heat up until I have her on her back against the couch; it’s big enough that we won’t fall off unless I get too aggressive, and right now, I’m ready to start throwing pillows around, ripping my teeth into them in victory. I pin her hands up above her head, my hips already rocking against her as she starts to peel down the spandex I was forced to wear. When they get to my ankles, I kick them off, then work on getting my stupid shirt off my body.